Alaska Airlines to join Oneworld in unusual new alliance with American

Big, new benefits for west coast fliers as Alaska Air joins Oneworld

Alaska Airlines is joining the Oneworld Alliance in a new partnership with American Airlines

Alaska Airlines is joining the Oneworld Alliance in a new partnership with American Airlines

Photo: Chris McGinnis

Photo: Chris McGinnis

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Alaska Airlines is joining the Oneworld Alliance in a new partnership with American Airlines

Alaska Airlines is joining the Oneworld Alliance in a new partnership with American Airlines

Photo: Chris McGinnis

Alaska Airlines to join Oneworld in unusual new alliance with American

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After years of a relationship at arm's length, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines will embrace a new "west coast international alliance" that will include Alaska's entry into the Oneworld Alliance and a new connection to India. After United, Alaska Airlines is the second largest carrier at San Francisco International Airport with about 13 percent of the market. American is the third largest, with an 8 percent share.

Alaska Airlines has always boasted about its partnership-based approach to loyalty. It has never been a member of any of the big three alliances: Oneworld, SkyTeam or Star Alliance. Instead, it has pursued partnerships with major 16 airlines around the world to provide plenty of global options for its high mileage frequent flyers. While those partnerships will remain in place for now, this announcement marks a departure from that strategy.

Alaska says that it now intends to join the Oneworld Alliance by next summer, a move that "will connect Alaska fliers to more than 1,200 destinations worldwide." Six of Alaska's current partners are Oneworld members, so this should help fill gaps in global coverage. At the same time, American flyers will gain access to Alaska Airlines deep network along the west coast.

Alaska's intent to become a Oneworld member needs to be approved by other airlines in the alliance. After that's done, Alaska fliers with elite status will find their loyalty to be worth a lot more. Other Oneworld carriers will give Alaska elites global recognition with priority check-in, boarding, and baggage services. Oneworld's Emerald and Sapphire tiers provide lounge access on international itineraries, a coveted perk of being a high-level elite.

"We’re focused on delivering for our guests over the long-term – which means continued profitable growth to enable new aircraft and new opportunities," said Andrew Harrison, Alaska's Chief Commerical Officer. "This supports those goals, and is an important step on the path."

So far, Alaska has not yet described how the Oneworld levels will be applied to its Mileage Plan tiers.

In 2018, Alaska pondered becoming a Oneworld Connect member, a secondary membership tier that offers customers some -- not all -- of the benefits of an airline alliance. Read more about that here.

Also, American Airlines will launch nonstop flights from Alaska's Seattle hub to Bangalore, India beginning October 2020. According to Brett Catlin, Alaska Airlines' managing director of alliances and network, about 200 people per day fly from from the Bay Area to Bangalore currently, and there's not an easy way to get there. SFO fliers typically take the long flight to one of the big hub airports in Europe or Asia and connect onwards from there.

Flying Alaska Air to from SFO, Oakland or San Jose to Seattle and then connecting on American to Bangalore could shave 4-5 hours off that journey (which takes 22-24 hours currently), according to Catlin. American's Bangalore flight will be the only nonstop to the tech hub from the US.

American will also add another nonstop from Seattle to London Heathrow starting in March 2021.

The new alliance will also make it easier for Alaska Airlines fliers in the Bay Area to earn and burn miles on flights to South America or the South Pacific by connecting at American's big hub in Los Angeles.

The airlines will continue their domestic codeshare arrangement "that offers customers hassle-free booking and travel between the two networks, and it will expand to include international routes from Los Angeles (LAX) and Seattle," according to Alaska Air. Planned cuts to the codeshare agreement between the two airlines that were supposed to go into effect March 1 are being put on hold, pending government review.

Photo: Alaska Airlines

Timeline for the new alliance

Timeline for the new alliance

Alaska Mileage Plan and American AAdvantage loyalty members "will enjoy benefits across both airlines, including the ability to earn and use miles on both airlines’ full networks, elite status reciprocity and lounge access to nearly 50 American Admirals Club lounges worldwide and seven Alaska Lounges in the U.S." That likely means those already overcrowded Admirals Clubs are going to get more crowded, and the same goes for Alaska's lounges.

Alaska Airlines Lounge members will still be barred from using the Admiral's Club lounge at SFO for the time being. But eventually, after American moves to Terminal 1 on March 24 and opens a new Admirals Club there on the same day, reciprocal benefits will kick in. The same goes for when Alaska Air opens its lounge in SFO's Terminal 2 in late 2020.

Alaska's Catlin told SFGATE that American and Alaska fliers could be able to accrue miles on both carriers as soon as this spring.

For San Francisco-based American frequent fliers and Oneworld elites, this is welcome news. American's presence out of the San Francisco Bay Area has been shrinking in past decades. Its 2013 merger with U.S. Airways boosted the carrier's overall flights and destinations, but American fliers yearned for long-discontinued flights that were popular with fliers, like flights between San Francisco-Boston and San Francisco-Hawaii. Alaska Airlines operates both.

More from Chris McGinnis

Reader Scott H from San Francisco, who flies both American and Alaska Airlines frequently, said that he's very excited to hear about the new alliance."For Alaska devotees, American greatly opens up the international network and mercifully fills in so many gaps across the country. It lightens the load for Alaska to throw unnecessary routes on the books that American could handle better. For American flyers it gives awesome west coast frequency and Alaska's great service. I also think American Air fliers in Los Angeles will be thrilled. I certainly am as someone who loves both airlines."

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